Microsoft Virtualization Strategy

Microsoft Virtualization Strategy

Mike Neil's blog post on the Microsoft Virtualization Strategy is an important read if you are in this space. If you think you are not in this space, you will be soon. Sooner than you think. He identifies 5 "things" that make up the strategy:

As we know, virtualization allows new and more dynamic uses of software that were not possible in a hardware-only model. A couple years back we moved from installation-base licensing to instance-base licensing for server products. Since these updates, the market has grown … as I mentioned in the Times’ article. And just last week, with the release of SQL Server 2005 SP2, we announced expanded virtualization use rights to allow unlimited virtual instances on servers that are fully licensed for SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition. I’m sure licensing for virtualized environments will continue to evolve for us and the industry.